51�Թ�

Two French antiques experts have been convicted of forging historic chairs that they claimed had once belonged to French royals such as Marie Antoinette.

During the trial, the prosecution had argued that Laurent Kraemer and his gallery in Paris were at fault for failing to sufficiently check the authenticity of the items they bought, before selling them on to buyers such as Qatari prince Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, who bought two chairs said to have belonged to Marie Antoinette for €2m.

Thought to be the most expensive chairs made for the last queen of France, Marie Antoinette, they were stamped with the seal of Nicolas-Quinibert Foliot, a celebrated menuisier – or carpenter – who worked in Paris in the 1700s.

Other items included another set of chairs purported to have sat in one of Marie Antoinette's chambers in Versailles; a separate pair said to have belonged to Madame du Barry, King Louis XV's mistress; the armchair of King Louis XVI's sister, Princess Élisabeth; and a pair of ployants – or stools – that belonged to the daughter of King Louis XV, Princess Louise Élisabeth.

Although she was catapulted into the spotlight for a musical, Taymor, who happens to be the niece of Tony-winning director Julie Taymor, has an impressive track record of collaborating with boldly innovative playwrights, among them Will Arbery, Jeremy O. Harris, Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu and Martyna Majok.